Kickstart Your Weekend: 'The OceanMaker'

Local animator seeks help making it rain

Austin is a city full of creatives. From musicians and poets to directors and game designers, there are countless projects getting started in the city every day. Take the time to check out a crowdsourcing campaign every so often, and chances are good that sooner or later you'll be directly helping a neighbor – and the Austin creative community as a whole.

In light of the massive outpouring of support for a Veronica Mars movie, it seems crazy that small projects with modest goals fail so regularly, so we're going to try to feature in-progress Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns (great and small) with more regularity to try to help spread the word. Starting … now.

Lucas Martell is an animator and director living in Austin who's trying to get help for his next animation project, "The OceanMaker.". In a world where the oceans have dried up and all that remains is the water in the clouds, knowing how to make it rain is invaluable. Hero Katrina has figured out just that, but there's one thing standing in her way: Air pirates are stealing every last drop.

The 9-minute short is 80% done, but Martell launched an Indiegogo campaign to help finish it up and get published. You have until May 3 to donate toward the $40,000 goal, and even a $10 donations gets you an invite to the screening party and a copy of the film, so check out the rewards and make it rain.